Unserstanding the Mind
Mind
Mind. Man’s intellectual processes in a narrow sense or, more broadly, the sum total of a man’s mental and moral state of being. To the Hebrew way of thinking there is no distinctive terminology for the conception of mind. To the Greek world mind plays a very important role in the understanding of man.
In the OT there was no separate word that could be used for a man’s mind. Translators of the English versions have supplied other words (soul, spirit, or heart) as the context dictates. Thus precise distinctions between these terms are hard to define. Generally, one might say that a man in his totality is a soul but he has a spirit and a heart. All of these terms may represent his mind. This means that the widely held distinction between the mind as the seat of thinking and the heart as the seat of feeling is alien to the meaning these terms carry in the OT.
The concept of the soul relates to “person” or “personality.” When it refers to the mind the term indicates that the mind is distinct from matter and nearly always dictates more than the reasoning faculty, but includes feelings, interest, and the will (Gn 23:8; Dt 18:6; 28:65; 2 Sm 17:8). In relation to spirit, mind gains much more emotional connotation (Gn 26:35; Prv 29:11). Other times it relates to the thoughts that come from a man’s mind (1 Sm 2:35; Ez 11:5; 20:32). Most often in the OT, the underlying conception of mind is that of the heart. The heart is often intended to include the entire inner man and thus often relates especially to the mind (Nm 16:28; 24:13). In these instances it relates primarily to the functions of will and memory (Is 46:8; 65:17; Jer 3:16).
The basic patterns of Hebrew reasoning continue in the Gospel accounts. The conception of mind appears quite rarely. When used, it is mostly in connection with the heart; for example, the imaginations of the heart (Lk 1:51). The only other occurrences of the word “mind” come in the statement of the great commandment: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind (cf. Mt 22:37; Mk 12:30; Lk 10:27). The Gospel writers are unanimous in their agreement that Jesus added “with all your mind” to Deuteronomy 6:5. In Mark, however, the questioner repeats the command of Jesus but with a word for understanding in place of the word for mind (Mk 12:33). In other places Jesus connects the processes of thinking with the heart (Mt 9:4). He makes the heart the source of the acts of a man (12:34).
With the writings of Paul one moves into the Greek world. Paul understood the mind as distinct from the spirit of man. It possesses the ability to understand and to reason (1 Cor 14:14–19); it is the seat of intelligence. In other places mind is used in a broader sense that includes the entire mental and moral process or state of being of a man (Rom 12:2; Eph 4:23). A man’s actions flow from the inclinations of his mind. Whether a man is good or evil depends on the state of his mind.
The state of a man depends upon what or who controls his mind. Romans 8:6, 7 speaks of a man’s mind being controlled either by the flesh or by the Spirit. The man whose mind is controlled by the flesh is evil. The mind controlled by the Spirit leads to good. Other passages refer to the inclination of a man’s mind being controlled by the god of this world (2 Cor 4:4). The temptation of Eve is pictured as a common experience of man, whereby the thoughts of a man are perverted (11:3). This in turn leads to the darkening or ignorance of the entire being and thus actions being controlled by the powers of evil within the world (Eph 4:17–19). A man’s ability to learn is connected to the condition of his mind. The man whose mind is controlled by the “god of this world” will have his mind darkened and will not be able to understand the world as it really is (2 Cor 3:14). It is as a veil over one’s understanding. On the other hand, Jesus opened the minds of the men who walked the Emmaus road with him so that they might understand the Scriptures (Lk 24:45).
The action of conversion is considered to be a “renewing of the mind” (Rom 12:2; Eph 4:23). In both cases the process is one whereby God takes control of the mind of a man through the Holy Spirit and leads the thoughts of that man into proper channels. Thus the new man is given power to make proper value judgments. He has a new mind with which to make spiritual discernments. He has the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:15, 16). Thus Paul can say that the new man serves God with his mind (Rom 7:25).